Bookslut

June 2005

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

In her debut novel, Joshilyn Jackson hooks readers from the first line: "There
are gods in Alabama: Jack Daniel's, high school quarter-backs, trucks, big tits,
and also Jesus..." and keeps the momentum until the end. When the narrator,
Arlene Fleet, heads to Chicago for college she makes a deal with God: she will
stop lying, stop fornicating and will never return to her home in Possett, Alabama
if he makes good on one single request.

Now, after a decade of excuses for missing holidays, reunions, weddings and
funerals, God is slipping on his end of the deal as skeletons of Arlene's past
threaten their way back into her life. Knowing she needs to return home to quiet
the waters, Arlene sets a course for Possett, Alabama, bringing along her boyfriend,
a black tax attorney who insists on accompanying her despite her family's racial
intolerance. Knowing all bets are off with God, Arlene relearns how to lie in
preparation for what's to come in a Southern town where truth doesn't stand
a chance against tradition.

From the moment the duo begin their road trip, the adventure unfolds as Jackson
sets up parallel stories of the life Arlene left over a decade ago and the one
she's been living. Switching between the past and the present every other chapter
makes Gods in Alabama a quick read. It has a proper mix of both plot
lines, which encourages story flow and precise character portrayal while spicing
the plot with tension and suspense.

Not that suspense is in short supply between characters with all of the awkward
silences, racist comments, sarcasm, and lies upon lies. Dialogue does more for
character development than any explanation could, which strengthens the credibility
of both the characters and Jackson. We learn a lot about both characters' stubborn
attitudes simply by their tone.

Aunt Florence took her hand off the mouthpiece and said in a disarmingly
affectionate tone, "Hello, serpent."
"Hi, Aunt Florence," I said.
"Do you know why I am calling you 'serpent,' serpent?"
"I couldn't begin to guess, Aunt Florence," I said.
"I'm referencing a Bible verse. Do they have the Bible at that American
Baptist church?"
"I believe I may have seen ones there once," I said. "No doubt
it fled the moment it realized where it was. As I recall, it had a lot of
serpents in it, and I am sure I could justly be called many of them."

She also steers away from the typical hillbilly, redneck southerner cliches
and instead makes her characters so real that you end up loving them, hating
them, and then loving them even more. She creates a bond between reader and
characters that's tough to let go of at the turn of the final page.

Jackson spins a story of sex, romance, racism, murder, family and the Deep
South into one gripping tale of deception and betrayal, where concocted lies
serve better than truth. Filled with humor, memorable characters, careful detail
and poignant truths about real life and coming to terms with the past, this
fast-paced novel leaves us satisfied. A Southern native herself, Jackson's characters
are fully developed, well managed and full of wit and Southern sass. While the
gods of Alabama may differ from those of most other states, Jackson's characters
all seem aware of Alabama's way of worship and consecration. It's obvious that
Jackson knows the unspoken rules and intricacies of the Deep South.